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  • ‘Unrealistic and meaningless’: Economists react to PTI govt’s second federal budget

    ‘Unrealistic and meaningless’: Economists react to PTI govt’s second federal budget

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has unveiled a Rs7.13 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which was presented before the parliament by Industries Minister Hammad Azhar amid opposition members’ protest against the same for being “anti-people”.

    But while the budget, which Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s team claims will bring relief to the masses in coronavirus times, is drawing mixed reactions from political leaders and the general public, what do economists have to say about it?

    MUZZAMMIL ASLAM:

    “Given the GDP [gross domestic product] projections (2.1%) for next year, it is apparent that the government has failed to provide impetus to the economy. This has highlighted resource constraints the current government is facing. The government is basically relying on the stimulus of 1.2 trillion it provided during COVID-19 and is now consolidating its finances due to [the] IMF [International Monetary Fund] programme.”

    YOUSUF NAZAR:

    “Budget making has been reduced to a meaningless annual ritual given the overall dismal performance in meeting the targets, a performance which had little to do with the pandemic. Given that Pakistan’s economy is contracting for the first time in history, I had hoped that the government will come up with a plan to revive growth. A big near term risk to growth is the locust attack. I don’t see anything in the budget to help the agriculture sector face this threat. On a broader note, the government seems lost and overwhelmed by the economic contraction. I don’t see how it succeed in meeting the revenue target through privatisation when the business confidence is so low and the premier appears to be, honestly, clueless about we need to do to reform the economy, reset spending priorities and revive confidence in the government.”

    FARHAN BOKHARI:

    “It is an unrealistic budget that is based on an unrealistic tax collection target. The budget should have included a bold plan to cut losses in public sector companies and an equally bold plan for tackling losses in the energy sector. Pakistan additionally needs an emergency plan to raise agricultural productivity as agriculture is the only sector of the economy that has recorded some growth. Such big moves require a national political consensus which is missing as the premier refuses to talk to other mainstream political leaders.”

    According to Hammad Azhar, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) revenue target for next year has been kept at Rs4.95 trillion, while defence allocations amount to around Rs1.3 trillion.

    READ: Twitter loses it over Rs1.29 trillion budget for defence, Rs83.63 billion for education

    The federal development programme has been budgeted at Rs650 billion to support growth prospects.

    The budget for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 comes at a time when the country is battling the COVID-19 pandemic that has served a severe blow to the economy. According to reports, it has been formulated considering the impact of the virus and to give relief to the citizens, as part of which no new taxes have been imposed.

    Check out the budget document here.

  • Twitter slammed in China, Turkey, Russia after removing ‘manipulative’ accounts

    Twitter has removed over 200,000 handles for spreading pro-China and Russia messages while also boosting support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1271186240323432452?s=20

    The company said “a core network” of 23,750 highly active Chinese accounts had been removed, along with another 150,000 “amplifier accounts”.

    Amplifier accounts share content to increase engagement that increases word-of-mouth exposure.

    Twitter said the Chinese network had links to an earlier state-backed operation dismantled last year by Twitter, Facebook and Google’s YouTube, which had been pushing misleading narratives about political dynamics in Hong Kong.

    Twitter said 23,750 accounts were the main focus while other accounts were identified as helping to boost the messages.

    Twitter also revealed it has shut down more than a thousand Russian-based misinformation accounts.

    In an official statement on fake Turkish Twitter accounts, they said that “those accounts were fake profiles designed to support the president and were single-handedly managed by a central authority”.

    However, Erdogan’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun denied the allegations through his official Twitter handle while stating that it was an “attempt to smear the Turkish government and a popular political movement, which was unacceptable”.

    In general, the entire network was involved in a range of manipulative and coordinated activities. They were tweeting predominantly in Chinese, Russian and Turkish languages and spreading geopolitical narratives for political agendas.

    Last week, Twitter also accused United States (US) President Donald Trump of making false claims in some of his posts, although the platform has come under fire for not removing coronavirus misinformation.

    Earlier this week, the company said it was trialing a new “read before you retweet” pop-up aimed to promote “informed discussions”.

    A message will appear on articles that users share without actually following the link to the article.

  • Fakhar-e-Bannu: Mardan appoints first female AC in 50 years

    Fakhar-e-Bannu: Mardan appoints first female AC in 50 years

    Hailing from KP’s Bannu district and stationed in Mardan Gul Bano is serving the people the best way she can. Gul Bano is the first female Assistant Commissioner in the 50-year history of Mardan Tehsil.

    Gul Bano was called ‘Fakhar-e-Bannu (Pride of Bannu)’ soon after she passed her Competitive Superior Services (CSS) exams. In an interview with Independent Urdu, Bano said, “After clearing my CSS exams, I was worried about what the villagers would think. But now they are proud of me and after seeing my photos on social media, they call me ‘Fakhr-e-Bannu’.”

    https://twitter.com/theSahira_/status/1176935618296909824?s=20

    Gul Bano’s success has paved a way for other girls in her area. Gul Bano completed her early education from City Model School, Peshawar. Then she did her intermediate from Jinnah College for Women. She then went to Peshawar University from where she obtained an MBA degree.

    Speaking to the media outlet, Gul Bano said that she developed an interest in Civil Services after her brother passed the exam.

    Her husband Dr Zahidullah was also appointed as a district police officer (DPO) in Mardan, the same district where Gul Bano is serving as assistant commissioner for the past eight months.

  • Twitter loses it over Rs1.29 trillion budget for defence, Rs83.63 billion for education

    With the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government unveiling its second budget in the National Assembly (NA) on Friday, Twitterati are losing it over nearly Rs1.3 trillion being allocated for defence against not even Rs84 billion for education in the Rs7.13 trillion budget for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21.

    One trillion equals 1,000 billion.

    DEFENCE BUDGET:

    According to Dawn, the government has proposed Rs1.29 trillion defence allocation for the next fiscal year, representing an 11.8 per cent increase over the original allocation for the outgoing year. Federal Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar, while presenting the budget in the National Assembly, said that defence and internal security have been given adequate attention in the budget.

    The military had last year forgone a major hike because of the economic challenges then facing the country and settled for a raise of 4.74 per cent, but by the end of the year, it had overshot the allocation by 6.33 per cent.

    The original allocation for last year was Rs1.15 trillion, but according to revised figures presented before the lower house of parliament, about Rs1.23 trillion had been spent. It has now virtually become a norm for actual defence spending incurred in a year to be higher than the original allocation.

    EDUCATION BUDGET:

    Meanwhile, the government has earmarked Rs83.363 billion for Education Affairs and Services against the revised allocation of Rs81.253 billion for the current fiscal year, showing an increase of around 2.5 per cent. The country’s public expenditure on education as a percentage to gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at 2.3 per cent in the fiscal year 2019-20, which, according to reports, is the lowest in the region.

    An amount worth Rs70.741 billion has been allocated for Tertiary Education Affairs and Services in budget 2020-21, which is 84.9 per cent of the total allocation under this head, while Rs2.931 billion have been earmarked for pre-Primary & Primary Education Affairs, Rs7.344 billion for Secondary Education Affairs & Services and Rs1.237 billion for administration.

    Since the federal government only finances higher education after the 18th Amendment when education as a subject was devolved to provinces, the government has increased the budgetary allocation for the higher education sector from Rs59 billion in 2019-20 to Rs64 billion for the next fiscal year. According to the budget documents, Rs29.470 billion have been earmarked for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) under the Public Sector Development Programm (PSDP) for 2020-21.

    TWITTER REACTS:

    With the nearly 1447.62 per cent difference between the spending on defence and education not sitting well with many, here’s how Twitterati are reacting:

    Some also highlighted how the government had allocated only Rs70 billion for combating the coronavirus and other disasters at a time when dozens were losing their lives to the virus across the country every day.

    What do you think of Budget 2020? Let The Current know in the comments.

    You can go through the budget document here.

  • 10 million Pakistanis to fall below poverty line

    10 million Pakistanis to fall below poverty line

    At least 10 million more Pakistanis will drop below the poverty line because of the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government’s new economic survey estimates.

    Around one in four Pakistanis are currently too poor to meet basic needs, but the figure is predicted to rise closer to 30 per cent of the world’s sixth most populous nation.

    “The COVID-19 outbreak is expected to have a negative impact on Pakistan’s economy, and the number of people living below the poverty line may rise from the existing figure of 50 to 60 million,” the survey says.

    The government’s annual Economic Survey also warned that the economy would contract for the first time in 68 years.

    “The country’s provisional gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate will likely contract 0.4 per cent instead of growing 3.3 per cent as previously forecast,” Adviser to Prime Minister (PM) on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh told a news conference.

    The adviser said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) were making bleaker assumptions keeping in view the severity and duration of the coronavirus pandemic. “In my view, we will have a better estimation when this year ends on June 30.”

    He highlighted the government’s swift and decisive policy actions since the start of the current fiscal year, including resource mobilisation, completion of the IMF programme, austerity measures and monetary policies helping stabilise the economy.

    The adviser stated that these measures helped the economy to reverse large external and internal imbalances. He said that significant improvement in external accounts was made as the current account and trade deficit witnessed a substantial contraction.

    “Foreign reserves steadily improved. There was an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI). The credit rating profile also improved. Fiscal performance remained strong during the first three quarters of the outgoing fiscal year, on the back of consolidation efforts and targeted reforms.”

    “To mitigate the socio-economic impact of the pandemic, the government announced a stimulus package of Rs1.24 trillion and offered further relief measures through the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The policy rate was also cut by 5.25pc to 8.0pc,” he said, adding that monetary and fiscal policy interventions had been made to restore economic activity in this difficult time and to reduce negative effects on poverty and unemployment.

  • Vasay Chaudhry, Omair Rana slam Punjab Govt spokesperson for making derogatory remarks against Shafaat Ali

    Vasay Chaudhry, Omair Rana slam Punjab Govt spokesperson for making derogatory remarks against Shafaat Ali

    A member of the Punjab government Usman Saeed Basra called Shafaat Ali a marasi (a derogatory term used to refer to artists) after the comedian prayed for PML-N President Mian Shehbaz Sharif’s – who recently tested positive for COVID-19 – good health. Basra’s Twitter bio says he is a spokesperson of the Punjab govt and Secretary Information PTI Punjab.

    Basra’s derogatory remarks irked Vasay Chaudhry, Omair Rana and Ali Zafar, who slammed him for it and urged Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar to look into the matter.

    Vasay added that it is not just about one person but is about the entire entertainment fraternity.

    Fellow journalists and anchors also stood up for Ali.

  • READ: PTI govt’s ‘corona budget’ for FY2020-21

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has presented its second federal budget in the National Assembly.

    According to Industries Minister Hammad Azhar, who delivered the budget speech on the floor of the house, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) revenue target for next year has been kept at Rs4.95 trillion, while defence allocations amount to around Rs1.3 trillion.

    The federal development programme has been budgeted at Rs650 billion to support growth prospects.

    The budget for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 comes at a time when the country is battling the COVID-19 pandemic that has served a severe blow to the economy. According to reports, it has been formulated considering the impact of the virus and to give relief to the citizens, as part of which no new taxes have been imposed.

    Here’s the complete Rs7.13 trillion budget:

    June 12, 2020
  • Songwriter Shakeel Sohail passes away

    Songwriter Shakeel Sohail passes away

    Songwriter and lyricist Shakeel Sohail breathed his last Thursday night. He was 55.

    According to reports, Sohail, who has penned the lyrics for several hit songs, suffered a heart attack.

    Superstar director Ehteshamuddin, also shared the news of his demise and expressed his grief.

    Shakeel was one of Pakistan’s leading lyricists. Some of his most noted works include Superstar’s ‘Ghalat Fehmi’ and Parwaaz Hai Junoon’s ‘Thaam Lo‘. The songwriter has also worked with Atif Aslam on several tracks, the latest being Aik Naya Khawab, which released on the day of his demise.

    Meahwile, Mahira Khan, Aima Baig, Shiraz Uppal and Amar Khan mourned his demise.

    https://www.facebook.com/uppalshiraz/posts/3319120831445647
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CBTYH2JhbPx/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CBTqaYCg11a/

  • Out-and-about Nawaz now spotted at London park

    Former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, who was allowed to leave the country for treatment despite his conviction and subsequent imprisonment in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case against him, has been advised to engage in physical activity and take daily walks as lockdown rules have eased in the United Kingdom (UK).

    Two days after Nawaz’s personal physician Dr Adnan Khan said that the ex-PM had been in self-quarantine due to his vulnerable age and a history of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, he was seen taking a walk at a park in London, which according to Adnan, had been advised by his doctors in the UK.

    “Now, as lockdown is eased & authorities are allowing to go out for health reasons, PM #NawazSharif is medically advised to take regular physical activity & should manage walks daily for physical well-being as essential in the management of Heart Disease, Diabetes & Hypertension,” Dr Adnan had tweeted earlier this week.

    The picture doing rounds over the internet showed Nawaz with his son Hussain Nawaz, grandson and two others, taking a walk.

    He did not have a mask on.

    “Former PM Nawaz Sharif has complex cardiac and carotid artery disease with significant co-morbidities, including diabetes, hypertension and chronic renal disease,” Dr Adnan told The News.

    Due to the UK government’s previous rules on lockdown amidst coronavirus pandemic, he was in self-quarantine at residence. Since the rules have been relaxed, his consulting doctors have advised him to take regular exercise and daily walks as an essential part of the disease management.

    “It is very unfortunate that controversy is made when an under treatment patient is out for a walk. While there’s little doubt that the intent behind leaking the picture was mala fide, in reality, had an opposite effect and a glimpse of Nawaz Sharif infused new life into his followers and workers.”

    Last week, a fresh picture of Nawaz at a roadside cafe in London had sparked a debate about his health. In the picture, he was seen sitting at the roadside eatery with his granddaughters, sporting a blue shalwar kameez and a cap. As the picture went viral on social media, it sparked a debate about the former premier’s health with his detractors asking why he does not return to Pakistan if he is well and roaming on London streets, while his supporters expressed joy at seeing their leader in good health and spirits.

    Dr Adnan, who left for Pakistan two weeks ago, said that he would soon return to London, as the former PM has to undergo planned cardiac intervention and further in-hospital treatment. He said that all possible necessary precautions guided by the consultants and international health advisories have been taken by Nawaz during walks and exercises.

  • Ertuğrul Ghazi statue taken down in Turkey for looking like Engin Altan Düzyatan

    Ertuğrul Ghazi statue taken down in Turkey for looking like Engin Altan Düzyatan

    A monument of Ertuğrul Ghazi was recently taken down in Turkey for bearing resemblance to actor Engin Altan Düzyatan, who played the character of Ertuğrul in the hit series, instead of the Muslim hero himself.

    People living in the area and social media users noticed the resemblance, following which an investigation has been launched to figure out what happened.

    “We were disturbed by the fact that the bust of Ertuğrul Gazi resembles Engin Altan Düzyatan, the leading actor in the Resurrection Ertuğrul series and the same day the bust in question was removed,” said the municipality in a written statement.

    “The necessary investigation has been initiated about those responsible for negligence. We thank all the public for the sensitivity they have shown,” the statement added.

    Meanwhile, The Current did some research and found a painting of what the real Ertugrul might have looked like.

    Ertuğrul Ghazi led a small band of warriors under the leadership of Anatolian Seljuk sultan in the mid-13th century. With his death in 1280, the leadership of his small tribe passed onto his son Osman, who is known to have established the Ottoman state in 1299.

    Ertuğrul Gazi’s life has been very popular in Turkey. and it has not only taken Turkey but many countries, especially Pakistan recently, by storm.

    According to the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV), 133 million people have so far watched the historical series based on his life from April 25- May 14. Also, its episodes are trending on YouTube and Netflix Pakistan every day.